Utp_ ［DVD+CD+楽譜］

2007年11月16日、ドイツのマンハイムで施政400年を記念したイベントが行われ、その音楽をカールステン・ニコライことアルヴァ・ノトと坂本龍一が担当。当日は、フランクフルトにベースを置いている Ensemble Modernes(アンサンブル・モデルヌ)という主に現代音楽の室内楽のアンサンブルのメンバーと一緒に演奏を繰り広げました。前回のコラボレーション作品『insen』の時は、カールステンのエレクトロニクスと、教授の生ピアノのコンビネーションでしたが、今回は教授もエレクトロニクスの部分にも参加。エレクトロニカ的な"音響"モノと、クラシックの楽器を使った"生"との融合が見どころ。DVDにはライヴ映像だけでなく、日本盤には収録されていないメイキング映像が収録。

Commissioned by the city of Mannheim (Germany) for its 400th anniversary, UTP was co-composed by Carsten Nicolai (aka Alva Noto) and Ryuichi Sakamoto. The work, whose title is deducted from the word "utopia," is scored for electronics, piano, and chamber ensemble, the latter being Ensemble Modern. It consists in extremely slow-paced tableaux of stretched out octaves and skeletal motives, a Butoh-like performance. The piece is solemn and entrancing, like Morton Feldman's music -- more elegant, perhaps. It marks a new step in the evolution of Nicolai and Sakamoto's music, together and apart, as neither of them had yet concocted something this sparse, this naked. Their previous collaborations could have been filed under "ambient music," but UTP belongs in the contemporary classical bin. This is a CD+DVD set. The CD includes a concert stereo version of the 75-minute work. The DVD has the same performance in 5.1 surround sound, shot with a single camera embracing the whole stage -- you won't see much of the musicians (then again, the stage is dark and not much is happening), but you get a great look at the big (really big!) screen in the back, where minimalistic yet beautiful "interference patterns"-like video art unfolds throughout the performance, minutely choreographed to the music. The DVD also includes a 40-minute "making of" that adds close-up shots of the musicians, an interview with the video artists, and an inside look at the dealings between composers and performers. ~ Fran‡ois Couture|

Commissioned by the city of Mannheim (Germany) for its 400th anniversary, UTP was co-composed by Carsten Nicolai (aka Alva Noto) and Ryuichi Sakamoto. The work, whose title is deducted from the word "utopia," is scored for electronics, piano, and chamber ensemble, the latter being Ensemble Modern. It consists in extremely slow-paced tableaux of stretched out octaves and skeletal motives, a Butoh-like performance. The piece is solemn and entrancing, like Morton Feldman's music -- more elegant, perhaps. It marks a new step in the evolution of Nicolai and Sakamoto's music, together and apart, as neither of them had yet concocted something this sparse, this naked. Their previous collaborations could have been filed under "ambient music," but UTP belongs in the contemporary classical bin. This is a CD+DVD set. The CD includes a concert stereo version of the 75-minute work. The DVD has the same performance in 5.1 surround sound, shot with a single camera embracing the whole stage -- you won't see much of the musicians (then again, the stage is dark and not much is happening), but you get a great look at the big (really big!) screen in the back, where minimalistic yet beautiful "interference patterns"-like video art unfolds throughout the performance, minutely choreographed to the music. The DVD also includes a 40-minute "making of" that adds close-up shots of the musicians, an interview with the video artists, and an inside look at the dealings between composers and performers. ~ Francois Couture